Surgical Science has expanded the Simbionix Ultrasound Mentor with a new pediatric ultrasound simulator platform for clinical simulation. The Pediatric Ultrasound offers realistic training needed to perform and interpret pediatric ultrasound imaging, providing a growing library of pediatric-oriented modules, focusing on Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), such as abdominal, emergency medicine and critical care scenarios for pediatric clinicians. This HealthySimulation.com article will explore the benefits of the Pediatric Ultrasound simulation platform by Surgical Science.
Why Pediatric Ultrasound?
Recent studies have demonstrated the potential for ultrasound to improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce the need for invasive procedures in children. As a result, pediatric ultrasound has become increasingly integrated into the clinical practice of pediatricians and emergency medicine physicians. However, standards for pediatric ultrasound training and assessment are not yet established and mainly rely on adult protocols. The pediatric simulator by Surgical Science can set a new standard for pediatric ultrasound training with its unparalleled realism, numerous educational benefits and a manikin that serves a wide range of pathologies from neonatal, infant and child scenarios.
Pediatric Ultrasound
The simulator is designed to provide the optimal educational environment to reach and demonstrate competency levels. The pediatric simulation platform enables practice of a growing library of pediatric ultrasound modules, starting with Abdominal, eFAST modules and expanding to modules such as: Bedside Echo, Advanced Echo, Lung and more. Simulator advantages include:
- Provides a realistic experience with complex ultrasound images and presents common ultrasound attributes and artifacts.
- Self-guided, step-by-step practice for various protocols like eFAST, Appendix scanning and Intussusception scanning, including standard views and anatomy recognition.
- Real ultrasound tissue compression effect.
- Easy alternation of the pediatric manikin with the male or female manikins for continuous training.
- Basic Skills module – an opportunity for pediatric subspecialties, new to ultrasound, to gain confidence with eye-hand coordination skills and ultrasound image controls
- Advanced diagnostic tools are at the user’s disposal: Color Doppler, M-mode, manual and auto-measurement tools, cine loop recording and more.
- Enabled proficiency-based training and performance tracking: complete performance reports including captured images comparison to gold standard.
Next, we look at the pediatric abdominal modules:
Pediatric Abdominal Modules
The Pediatric Abdominal module offers tasks and clinical cases that present various findings relevant to abdominal ultrasound examination in children. Clinical cases present various unique features, such as the option to run a randomized case, visualize Color Doppler varying per pathology, and perform a feeding test that allows examination of food passing through the pyloric channel. Procedural tasks offer step-by-step guided scanning protocols by leading pediatric physicians upon suspected appendicitis and intussusception to practice anatomy recognition and standard view acquisition. A key benefit in this module is the ability to increase the diagnostic complexity for additional opportunities for the learners to increase their knowledge of patient care through clinical simulation.
Pediatric eFAST
The Pediatric eFAST (Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) module includes hands-on procedural tasks and clinical cases for the eFAST protocol with common, realistic pediatric pathologies. The module enables training on the evaluation of free fluids in the peritoneal cavity and pleural space following a traumatic injury. The Pediatric eFAST also enables the customization of pathologies’ severity to increase diagnostic complexity.
The special features of the module include the ability to run a case with randomized pathology, perform bladder volume measurements, and seamlessly alternate between cardiac and linear probes during a case. Pediatric eFast provides learners the ability to improve patient care delivery through healthcare simulation education.
Ultrasound Mentor
The Pediatric Ultrasound platform is part of the Ultrasound Mentor family as a high-end medical simulator for the training of ultrasound-related examinations and interventions developed in collaboration with medical experts. The Ultrasound Mentor offers a multidisciplinary, realistic hands-on training for the ever-growing utilization of ultrasound in medicine especially at point of care (POC) setting. The Ultrasound Mentor provides residents, fellows, and practicing physicians an opportunity to acquire and improve their sonography-related skills on a variety of virtual patients. Each platform features realistic accurate landmarks that assist in probe positioning. A variety of commonly used probes are provided with the system. Each module includes step-by-step Procedural tasks to provide self-learning opportunities and save valuable faculty time.
The Ultrasound Mentor provides the optimal hands-on healthcare simulation solution to train ultrasonography, and is designed to improve patient care through acceleration of the trainee’s learning curve and promotes diagnostic competence. Ultrasound Mentor provides state-of-the art opportunities to students, residents, fellows and practicing physicians as the optimal solution to acquire, practice and improve their sonography skills on a wide variety of patient anatomies and pathologies.
MentorLearn Cloud
The MentorLearn Cloud and simulator curricula management system provides the simulation center manager a remote, single access portal for managing the simulation-based training and education needs for the Surgical Science line of simulators. Key benefits include:
- Facilitates the ability for administrators and learners to perform curricula – related tasks from anywhere, anytime, such as tracking trainee progress, curriculum design, user administration as well as online learning
- Creates an organizational structure of learners and groups tailored to match individual and group training needs
- Includes a library of ready-to-use simulation training curricula developed by experienced centers
- Allows you to upload your own content such as procedural videos, images, quizzes and files
More About Surgical Science
Surgical Science is a supplier of medical virtual reality simulators. The company’s healthcare simulation training solutions provide a safe environment to master skills and procedures prior to patient interaction. Through the use of advanced technology and partnerships with medical simulation societies and the healthcare simulation community at large, Surgical Science is able to create unmatched graphics and haptics for a realistic learning experience.
The company’s education resources are currently used in simulation centers, hospitals, universities, and by medical device partners in over 60 countries, to help medical professionals become more skilled and confident. Headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden, Surgical Science has remained committed to providing state-of-the-art medical training simulators that focus on ease of use and validation for over 20 years.
The company shares, “The simple idea is to learn the practical techniques of instrument handling in a realistic but safe environment so that you can pay full attention to the patient when you begin the operation.” Ultimately, the vision is that every patient undergoing a medical procedure is certain that the caregiver is trained and objectively certified in a simulated environment.
